I Wish I Was On "Thomas the Train"

“Nothing is a waste of time 

if you use the experience wisely.” 

~Auguste Rodin

Too bad Thomas The Train isn't real...

Sunday night, after a perfect weekend in Reggio celebrating my birthday with my friends, I thought nothing could go wrong.

I was floating on cloud 9 from my happiness.

Then I woke up to the frantic sound of my friend's voice...

It was 5:45 in the morning, we had slept peacefully throughout the entire evening in our sleeper cabin; door locked tight, baggage secured, my purse wrapped around my head.

Michelle’s voice caused me to jump out of my bed.

“Marissa,” she said, “there were two men in our room, and they took my wallet.”

My heart stopped immediately. 

The other women in our cabin woke up. And started to panic.

So many questions went running through my mind.

How did they get in? What did they take?

Where did they go? Where was MY purse?

I rushed out of my cabin, ready to track down the thieves. My purse, which was wrapped around my head had been taken right from underneath me. Michelle’s wallet had been stolen, and a women’s briefcase was missing. 

“They would not get away with this,” I thought. 

But, there was a staggering feeling in my 

heart that  it was an impossible mission.

More and more people began waking up, all of the cabins had been broken into. The train stewards were on their phones, calling the police and searching for our things. 

Thankfully, my purse was found under a bed, everything intact, except for my phone. My body let out a big sigh of relieft when I saw my black purse in Michelle’s hands. And she let out a big cry when her wallet was uncovered stashed away in the bathroom, everything intact except 125 Euro.

For a thirty minutes, I panicked for the first time while living in Italy. I felt completely lost, without any clue on what to do. How could I have not woken up to someone breaking into our cabin, taking my purse from underneath me?

I was angry. Upset. Scared.

We could never properly identify the thieves, Michelle had only seen them leaving our room. And as the the train stopped in Rome, it was impossible to search everyone.

With good fortune, a phone and a few hundred Euro is nothing to be too strongly upset over. They are just material things. But the idea of having strangers so close to me as I lay sleeping is a feeling I would not like to experience again. 

We’ve been warned over and over again about the safety precautions to take when traveling, no matter where we go. 

But never did I imagine a locked door on a train guarded by stewards would be broken into.

Lesson learned. Lesson never to be forgotten.

I think I’ll carry my mace with me every where I go, and sleep with one eye open.

Ti Voglio Bene!

“So much of me is made from what I learned from you. 

You’ll be with me, like a handprint on my heart.”

It’s true what they say -  friends come and go, but true friends will always be with you, no matter the distance that separates you. I truly believe there is nothing on this earth more prized then true friendship. My heart is warmed by the thought of the beautiful people I have in my life. My friends who can keep me smiling from dusk to dawn and who I care about with all my being.

This weekend I celebrated my 23rd birthday in Italy. The second year I’ve been away from my home, celebrating in a completely different world. But for the second year in a row, I was blessed with the company of amazing people. 

Thursday evening, Francesca, Vincenzo and Bea surprised me with a dinner in Rome. I was completely taken a back. Dinner in Rome, eating, drinking and enjoying each other’s company. I missed my family back home, but they made me feel so welcome - they filled a void in my heart.

This weekend, I returned to a place that stole my heart the moment I stepped off the train last June. I returned to Reggio Calabria to celebrate and visit friends of mine who have remained so close to me! 

I can’t find the words to express the joy I felt being surrounded by people I care about and who truly care about me. It was a little slice of heaven visiting Reggio...Sottozero for breakfast with Andrea, visiting two of my favorite beaches, Scilla and Anna, sharing an enormous gelato with Saso, taking a walk on the marina with Angela and company, dancing on the beach at the disco and jumping in the water in my birthday dress with Andrea and Dario. The moments are captured in my heart and mind, and of course, the pictures help too.

I hated hoping on the train in Reggio Sunday night, looking at all of my friends waving goodbye. There was something special about them walking us to the train, a type of gesture that was so small, but meant so much - a type of love you experience when you truly have formed friendships that will last a lifetime.

There’s that famouns Blink-182 song with the line ‘...Nobody loves you when you’re 23...” - maybe I’m not in love, and won’t find love this year, but, I can say with complete confidence that I will be loved at 23, and my friends proved that to this weekend.  Ti Voglio Bene

<3

Birthday Wish

“No one else can ever make your choices for you. Your choices are yours alone. They are as much a part of you as every breath you will take, every moment of your life.” - Dr. Shad Helmstetter

For the second year in a row, I will celebrate my birthday in Italy. For many, a birthday is a day of celebration, filled with friends and family and cake (for me, gelato!). This Saturday, I’ll turn the lonely and highly-forgettable 2-3.

Forgettable - ironic since my word  is UNforgettable....

It’s that famous line “...Nobody loves you when your 23...”

Although I’m excited for my birthday, it will require time of reflection on my part - to look back and recall specific moments in time where I had to make choices; choices that have made me who I am today. 

Why do I have to do this? Since I live in the present, and not the past?Because the choices I have made have formed my persona and my current being. The choices I will make in the future need to be the right choices; thought-out with careful consideration and examined with a fine-tooth comb. No doubt I will falter along the way, we all do. Afterall, we are just human.

I think it’s important that we all take time to ourselves to reflect on the choices we make in life. 

Not for regreat, but for examination and understanding.

Every day I wonder if I made the right choice moving to Rome after graduating. And every day, when Bea learns a new word in English, or when we are swimming in the pool and she gives me an unexpected hug, or kiss, any doubt in my mind is wiped away. 

I’m having a positive impact on the growth of a child, and the joy in my heart could burst it wide-open when I see the excitement in her eyes, or hear that laugh of hers. 

How could this decision not have been the right one? How chould this choice not impact me in a positive way, especially since I am having a positive impace on someone else? This may not be a “real” job, but it’s a choice I made, and I will treat it delicately and act accordingly until my time is up. 

It’s no secret that choosing our path in life is a difficult and sleep-depriving task. But, I believe that the choices I have made up until now have only helped me to grow and gain knowledge and wisdom. 

So come Saturday, when I blow out my candles and devour my gelato, I will make a wish, a wish for my future. I will not be a “forgettable” 23-year-old, I will be unforgettable to everyone around me, and with careful consideration, the next chapter in my story will be a choice only I can make. And no matter what that choice is, I will be a stronger person because of it.

If It Makes You Happy

“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure”

~ Peter Marshall

I’m sure there is some cosmic rationale as to why finding the “right answers” to life are so difficult. Some people rely on faith to point them in the right direction, some rely on family to tell them what’s “best”, others rely on the natural process; finish high school, graduate from college and grad school, get a job... then marriage, a house, kids...etc.

But I can’t help if I feel life is not just a “process”. The legal system is a process, losing weight is a process, learning a new language is a process. But, in my opinion, life is not about the destination, but more about the journey.

Every day I feel the pressure to pick my “next step.” This Peter Pan advice is handed out so easily; family, friends. They think they are only helping me, offering me suggestions. The suggestions are getting old, the advice is repitive and cumbersome. 

But please don't forget, this is not your life to live, it's mine. I have to make these decision carefully and cautiously, but also, with my happiness in mind.

Maybe I’m failing; I graduated from Penn State in 3.5 years with a 3.87 GPA. I worked in all areas of Communications, networked, broadened my horizons. And I chose to move to Rome to teach English.

Why? Because my mind, body and soul told me too.

Every road pointed to Rome, and when nothing else manifested, my direction returned to Rome.

I’ve always known what I wanted. 

Always.

When I was 6, I told my Dad I would go to Penn State University. When I was 12, I told myself I would start varsity basketball my sophmore year of high school. When I wanted to learn Italian, I told myself I would - and I did. 

I’m a go-getter. And when my mind, body and soul knows what it wants - nothing can stop me.

I’m feeling the pressure. Just like any 23 yr.-old trying to figure out her next step. But if something makes me happy, it can’t be that bad, right?

No worries though, I'm not failing.
I’ll figure it out. 

I know I’ll figure it out, in the right time, at the right place.

M&M Take Rome By Storm!

“You May Say I’m A  Dreamer, But I’m Not The Only One”
 - John Lennon

Two years ago I spent my summer in State College as a PR intern for the American Red Cross. While there, not only did I develop skills in my field of interest, but I met people who would become staples in my life. 

People I would be able to count on. 

Friends I could trust. 

That summer was a life-changing summer, for many reasons, and I feel blessed with the people who found a way into my life, for I am a better and stronger person because of them today.

Crazy how life comes around full circle

One of my dear friends I made that summer, Michelle, has been a huge part of my life for these past two years. We’ve laughed together, drank way to many Monkey Boys together, cried together, and now, we are working together!

Three weeks ago, Michelle packed up her bags and jumped on a plane to Rome to live with an Italian family and help guide and teach their children.

We both have dreams, dreams to take the PR world by storm someday, and we are both willing to leave our comfort zones and grow. Whether that means living in a foreign country or not, now, I have a dear friend next to me to take Rome by storm. Even if we pay 8 Euro for pictures with fake soldiers :)

San Vito lo Capo - Sicilia

"You may have the universe if I may have Italy." --Giuseppe Verdi

I’m one of the lucky ones. I’ve been able to travel all over Italy; experience beautiful, enchanted cities, breathtakng beaches, climb mountains and explore Ancient Rome. But after spending a week on vacation with my Italian family in Sicily, at San Vito lo Capo, I can easily say no matter how much of Italy I have seen, it never ceases to amaze me! Our home was on the Mediterranean, I could walk down the steps, and be on the beach with two hops, one skip and a jump. Meggie and I drove through the mountains, down the coast where we visited Palermo and Capo d'Orlando. We swam in the warmest, and bluest of waters, and took in some amazing sunsets. 

I sometimes wonder if God spent extra time creating Italy and all of it's beauty...

Reggio Calabria 2010 PSU Study Abroad

There are some moments in life we will never forget. Chapters in our stories that will remain so vivid and colorful until the end of our days. These memories, well they pop into our minds like fireworks, with big bangs - shining brightly, and slowly diminishing.

But, never forgotten. Never gone.

A little over a year ago, me and 12 other of my fellow Penn State friends ventured overseas to Reggio Calabria, Italy. For all of us, this was a chapter in our lives never to be forgotten. Never gone.

I’ve been working on this project for a while now, and I wanted to have it ready for the summer. I got sidetracked as I laid in the blazing sun in San Vito lo Capo, Sicily, but, nonetheless it’s finished.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, and when you add music and memories, seven minutes turns into an into an entire two months in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Not necessarily because of the sea, the beach, the discos or the food - mostly because of the people.

Reggio Calabria, 2010. Never to be forgotten. Never Gone.

La Bella Vita